PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to All Progressives Congress, APC, members to keep faith with the ruling party, even as the outgoing National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun felt fulfilled stepping down from the post, expressing gratitude for the opportunity given him to serve, amid protests by some enraged members.
While acknowledging that the party is beset with unresolved crises, following its recent congresses nationwide, the President expressed optimism that the new leadership would explore avenues for peace, assuring: “I want to assure everyone here that despite a few lingering issues with the congresses in some states, our great party will emerge stronger after this convention.
\”The unresolved cases we have is the price we have to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team. I am imploring all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right.
“The adoption of consensus as a first option is commendable and the process has led to a lot of healing and cohesion across the states and the zones, and where elections are inevitable, I have been assured that the process adopted will result in clear and undisputed results. Again, I am appealing to all contestants to keep faith with the party.”
Buhari appealed to “all to put our great party ahead of personal considerations and accept the outcome of the exercise in good faith.”
In his valedictory speech following which he stepped down for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as the new National Chairman, Oyegun expressed confidence that the pary would remain vibrant ahead of the 2019 polls and thanked his National Working Committee colleagues for making his time a success. He also wished Oshiomhole a successful tenure.
He expressed gratitude to founding fathers of the party including Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Chief Bisi Akande; Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; and Prince Tony Momoh, who ensured the fusion of the legacy parties: the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), into APC.
Oyegun said he was fulfilled stepping down from the position with the party still intact, in spite of predictions that an implosion was imminent.
In a carnival-like situation, former governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole, was affirmed by thousands of delegates, having coasted home to the certain victory following the withdrawal of Clement Ebri, the last contestant for the position.
Also affirmed as National Deputy Chairman (South), is a former governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
In his speech, Chairman of the convention planning committee and Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State, said that of the 60 positions up for contest, candidates for 18 emerged unopposed, adding that delegates would vote their preferred candidates for the 42 remaining slots.
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Yakubu Dogara; the 24 Governors of the party; and federal and state legislators among others attended.
The aggrieved party members who were mainly from Zamfara State, staged a peaceful demonstration around the Federal Secretariat that housed the Square, declaring the whereabouts of state chairman of the party, Alhaji Surajo Garba Mai Katako Gusau, unknown. They were however barred from accessing the Eagle Square venue of the event, a move that infuriated them.
The protesting delegates from the state claimed that wrong persons were recognised and allowed access to the venue and urged the national leadership of the party to resolve the anomaly.
They vowed to take appropriate action in seeking redress, pointing out: “We are the duly and legitimately elected executives of APC in Zamfara State.\”
Their leader, Muhammad Bello Bakyasuwa, who spoke as Zamfara State APC Publicity Secretary, said they were shocked and embarrassed at the alleged disgraceful treatment, coming after they had been duly elected as officials in the state congresses of May 5, 12 and 19, 2018.
According to him: “We are here with all our delegates and over 1,000 supporters. But shockingly, we have been denied entry into the Eagle Square. We, hereby, appeal to our new national party leaders to be fair and recognise us as the legitimate APC leadership in Zamfare State.
\”As you can see, the security operatives stopped us from entering into the venue of the convention. Right now, we don’t know where our chairman is.”
He said: \”They stopped us because some of our supporters were wearing T-shirts with the photograph of our leader, Senator Kabir Garba Marafa.”
He added: “We also wish to restate, with serious emphasis, our resolve to pursue all legitimate means of ensuring that justice and fairness is done by giving us our due recognition as the legitimate APC leadership in Zamfara State.”
Conspicuosly absent is aggrieved party chieftain and former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who is also the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
As at the time of filling this report, delegates were still casting ballots for candidates of their choice for key positions like National Women Leader, National Organising Secretary, National Auditor and National Secretary.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the convention as a charade, a mockery of democracy and an assault on the sensibility of Nigerians.
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the leading opposition party said that “the open intimidation and physical assault on aspirants and delegates to the convention further confirm the desperation by President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp to seize the APC’s presidential ticket, for which they have resorted to imposing pliable officials who had been handed the directives to muzzle other presidential aspirants in the APC ahead of the party’s presidential primary.”
It alleged that the All Progressives Congress is organising its National Convention with funds stolen from public coffers and that the APC has become a laughing stock and a huge joke among Nigerians following the inability of its leaders to resist the imposition of an individual overburdened by corruption allegations as its new leader.
According to the statement: \”It is sickening to note that the entire APC Convention is a celebration of corruption organised to crown dishonest and fraudulent individuals, who ordinarily should be guests at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) offices across the nation.
“With this, the APC has finally capped itself a party of corruption, deceit and lies, where alleged treasury looters are robed as kings and where all decency have been thrown overboard for official hooliganism.
“Moreover, Nigerians find it very nauseating that a party, whose Federal Government claims to be fighting corruption, has itself, remained the biggest beneficiary of corruption and stolen public funds.
“Our investigation had since revealed that governors of APC-controlled states were coerced to divert huge sums from federal bailout funds meant for the wellbeing of the people as well as monies budgeted for development projects in various communities, to fund a failed convention that promises to sing the Nunc Dimitis of APC.
“We also challenge the APC to deny reports that funds were syphoned from some federal agencies to finance a wasteful convention.
“Nigerians can now surmise why the Presidency refused to bat an eye over reported syphoning of billions of naira from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) allegedly to fund the activities of the APC.
“Furthermore, Nigerians now have a clue regarding the source of the N671 million reported to have been stolen from the APC account by some of its officials, who allegedly diverted the money into their private accounts.
“The PDP calls on Nigerians to mark the APC National Convention as an epilogue for a party that has caused our nation and her people so much pain and anguish in the last three years.”
